The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has cleared the air on the alleged theft of ‘Surjya’ and ‘Chandra’ jewllery of the deities of the shrine following the Lords’ Nagarjuna Besha on November 27. In a statement on Monday, the SJTA said no item of the besha has been stolen. All the items of the deities are in safe custody.
During the Nagarjuna Besha chief artisan Basant Kumar Rana prepared two ‘Chandra’ and ‘Surjya’ jewellery out of thermocol. As they were not used during the besha, ‘Bhandara Mekapa’, Madhusudan Mekap and Srimandir Management Committee member Ramchandra Das Mohapatra brought the two items made up of thermocol out of the temple.
Notably, a servitor had taken out the ‘Surjya’ and ‘Chandra’ out of the temple on November 28 after the Nagarjuna Besha was over. The temple administration launched an investigation after the media highlighted the issue. Some organisations also filed police complaints over the matter.